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Positive Bias in Value-Based Decision Making: Neurocognitive Associations with Resilience.
Rebecca A Rammensee1, Andrew Heathcote2, Ulrike Basten3
1Department of Psychology, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau 76829, Germany.
Summary
Individuals with a positive choice bias, linked to psychological resilience, show distinct neural processing of rewards and punishments. This bias may reflect better regulation of negative information, supporting resilience.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Biased information processing is implicated in mental disorders.
- Understanding individual differences in cognitive and neural processing of reward and punishment signals is crucial for resilience.
- Value-based decision-making is fundamental to adaptive behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate choice biases in value-based decision-making.
- To explore the relationship between psychological resilience and individual differences in neural processing of reward/punishment signals.
- To examine how cognitive and neural factors mediate the link between resilience and choice bias.
Main Methods:
- A cost-benefit integration task involving visual stimuli with gains and losses.
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure neural activity.
- Cognitive-computational modeling to assess valuation and sensitivity to positive/negative information.
- Analysis of functional connectivity between brain regions.
Main Results:
- A positive choice bias correlated with trait acceptance (a resilience facet).
- This association was mediated by neural processing: higher trait acceptance and positive bias were linked to stronger neural responses to losses in prefrontal/parietal regions and decreased responses to gains in the right inferior frontal junction.
- Cognitive modeling indicated lower sensitivity and valuation of negative relative to positive information in individuals with a positive choice bias.
- Higher valuation of positive information correlated with stronger neural responses to negative information in the dACC and insula.
- Choice bias and trait acceptance were associated with functional connectivity across prefrontal, midbrain, striatal, and ventromedial prefrontal regions.
Conclusions:
- Stronger activation in cognitive control regions for negative information suggests enhanced regulation.
- This enhanced regulation may promote a positive choice bias, supporting psychological resilience.
- Differences in value processing, particularly a lower valuation of negative information, could contribute to resilience against stress and mental health issues.
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